


Closer

by randomfandomimagine



Series: Ficlets (Reader Insert) [30]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Injury, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Heavy Angst, Other, no pronouns specified
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 14:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22194007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomfandomimagine/pseuds/randomfandomimagine
Summary: You don’t know what you have until you lose it, and it isn’t until Jaskier gets badly hurt that Y/N realizes how much he truly means to them.
Relationships: Jaskier | Dandelion/Reader
Series: Ficlets (Reader Insert) [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664227
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	Closer

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Inspired by episode five ‘Bottled Appetites’, no spoilers though. Hope you enjoy it, please kudos and/or leave some comments if you do! I would especially love to know some opinions, what did you think of it?

Jaskier gently squeezed your side, making you chuckle like he intended to. You squeezed against him in the saddle in response, and he smiled at you over his shoulder. 

“Ah, there he is!” Jaskier pulled on the reins and stopped the horse upon spotting the witcher. “Geralt! What are you doing here? Why did you leave?” 

The bard got down from the horse and absently helped you down as well, even if his attention was partially focused on his friend. Once you were settled on the ground, Jaskier patted your waist and walked over to Geralt.

“Fuck off” The witcher replied, pulling Roach along as he walked.

Jaskier turned around, exchanging a confused glance with you. More to yourself than to him, you nodded your head.

“It’s because of Yennefer, isn’t it?” You piped up, bearing a cautious tone that didn’t mean to upset him. “You weren’t expecting to see her there” 

While the witcher continued, basically ignoring you two, your other friend stared at you. He lifted his head to the sky, mouth open in recognition, and nodded himself.

“Ah, then maybe you should go back” Jaskier mumbled as he looked around the forest the three of you were now in. “This place doesn’t look too safe anyway”

“Shut up” Geralt’s voice was suddenly cold as he came to a halt.

You glanced at the bard as he gawked in outrage. However, it felt like something was wrong. The witcher’s shoulders were tense, and he was incredibly still. Much to your dismay, Jaskier’s cheeriness vanished as he slowly faced you again.

“What is it?” You nervously asked, clutching to the horse’s reins in anguish.

“Look out!” Jaskier pushed you out of harm’s way just as a hidden beast jumped out from the forest’s depths and lunged at you. 

You fell to the ground with the force of his movement and screamed as you saw it tackling him to the ground, joining his own screams as he cried out in pain. 

All you could do at that moment was watch in shock as your body froze. Geralt was getting the beast off Jaskier in a flash, wielding his sword and casting it upon the creature. You still didn’t think of standing from the floor until you glanced at Jaskier.

“Oh, no…” You dragged yourself closer to him until you were kneeling by his side. “Jaskier! No, no, no, no!”

The bard tried to reach out, his hands leaving his neck and exposing the nasty wound. The beast’s claws had ripped his skin in deep gashes that seeped thick dark blood. He gurgled and grunted, trying to say words that his terrible injury didn’t allow him to.

“S-Stay with me” You begged him, recognizing pure fear in his blue eyes as he tightly gripped your hand, filling it with blood. “Geralt? Geralt, help him!!”

Feeling yourself shaking from head to toe, you urgently reached out to cover his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Jaskier complained, breathlessly telling you it hurt. You didn’t know what to do, feeling tears of fright and helplessness arriving to your eyes.

All you thought of doing was holding his head in your hands and tilting it to the side as he violently coughed up blood that filled his lips and stained his chin.

The witcher soon returned by Jaskier’s side, not daring to touch him as he fixed his golden eyes on the bard. Producing some bandages from his pocket, Geralt handed them to you and stood back up without a word. There was a rare restlessness to his usually nimble movements.

When you looked back at the injured man, his eyes were rolling back into his skull. He was now deadly pale. His eyes closed. You didn’t know what to do. How could you help him?!

“Jaskier!” You shook his shoulder, but earned no reaction as he limply lied on the ground. “J-Jaskier…?” 

The light bandages felt heavy in your hand, reminding you what you should be doing. Your fingers trembled so much that it was a difficult task, but you managed to tightly wrap the bandage around his bloody neck.

“He’ll live” Geralt’s grave voice startled you, making you look over your shoulder to see him returning with Roach. “I know someone, we’ll take him there” 

You stood up to give him some room as Geralt propped the unconscious Jaskier on his shoulder and lifted him up. The witcher then turned to you and eyed you. 

You averted your gaze, sobbing without remedy and having too many thoughts. Just a moment ago you had been joking about Geralt getting lost, laughing together as you looked for him. And now Jaskier was… dying.

“Calm down” There was a restricted unease beneath Geralt’s apparent tranquility. “Get on the horse and follow me” 

You only nodded, even if your body moved on its own. Your mind was too hazy to focus. All you could think about was Jaskier. He had to be okay. You _needed_ him to be okay.

-

Everything had happened in a daze as you searched Rinde for Geralt’s acquaintance. After what felt like hours riding, you had left your horses to get into some tents. An elf called Chireadan was treating Jaskier, but you refused to watch once you noticed how much blood there was. Jaskier’s blood. 

You just stood there, not sitting either since you were too restless to stand still. You kept fidgeting and shifting your weight from one foot to another. Geralt was done asking you to stop moving around.

“Look at me” You didn’t notice you were biting your nails until the witcher tugged at your wrist. Heeding his petition, you gazed up at him. “He’s being taken care of now” 

“I…” You glanced at the elf behind Geralt, still treating that nasty wound. “Will he be okay?”

The elf lifted his head up at your voice, recognizing you hadn’t opened your mouth since you arrived. His eyes met yours and he dedicated you a polite but comforting smile.

“Yes, but he shouldn’t speak until the wound heals” 

“That won’t be easy for him” Geralt said, staring at you.

You tried to laugh, but only a strangled noise came out.

“Relax, Y/N” Your friend patted your back. “He’ll be fine”

“I know, I just… It’s just…” That anxiety hadn’t quite left you, so you fidgeted in the spot. “He saved me… That’s why he’s hurt, he was protecting me” 

Geralt frowned, empathetic to your guilt, and nodded. 

“Wouldn’t you have done the same thing for him?”

“Well, yeah! But…” 

“But what?” 

“It’s stupid” You sighed, now calm enough to recognize your own emotions. It wasn’t only the concern or the guilt that was eating you alive because of his condition. “He’s so annoying and so silly, I hadn’t realized how much he means to me until I thought he could die” 

“Hm” His hand, that still wrapped around your wrist to comfort you, squeezed softly before letting go of you. “Then stop being so stubborn and tell him how you feel when he wakes up” 

“W-What?” 

“I think you’re closer to him than you realize”

“I-I…” You stuttered as Geralt walked away from you. He only dedicated you an insistent glance before he left the tent. 

Not knowing what to do, you let your eyes wander around the white tent even if you barely registered the disorganized mess that was the interior. The healer elf then straightened up from his position leaning closer to Jaskier.

“All done” He announced as he moved to face you. “He should wake up soon”

“Thank you” You genuinely said, to which he nodded at you. 

While the healer went to organize his tools again, you walked closer to the bed Jaskier rested in. He looked somewhat peaceful lying there. Luckily, he wasn’t as pale as before. All blood had been cleaned off his face and neck, even if the crimson stains on his clothes were a cruel reminder of what happened.

Seeing him there, weak and sick, made you want to look after him. It awoke something within you that you hadn’t been aware of before. Or, like Geralt implied, something that you had been subconsciously trying to repress. Whatever the case, you were now sure of how you felt about him. 

Reminiscing on all the moments he made you laugh, that he teased you and embarrassed you to get a good laugh out of it. How he always winked at you to fluster you when you least expected it and he chuckled when you blushed. Jaskier would pout and whine when you retaliated, feigning innocence so you forgave him. And it always worked. 

Thinking that you were close to not having those interactions with him anymore brought an ache to your chest. The guilt gnawed at you again, so you reached out to lovingly sink you fingers in his soft brown hair. However, it felt invasive to touch him while he was unconscious. Instead, you sighed and sat by his side in the spot that the elf previously occupied.

“Chireadan… ” You called him, glancing at him as he also turned to you. “Can I stay here with him?” 

“Of course” He smiled at you once again, realizing how fond you were of Jaskier as well. “Stay here as long as you’d like”

“Thanks” Cuddling over yourself, you got comfortable in your seat.

You were determined to stay by Jaskier until he awoke, looking after him.

-

Time passed slowly as you impatiently awaited for him to wake up. Not an hour had gone by and you were starting to fear Chireadan’s cares hadn’t quite worked. 

Now that your tense body had relaxed and the exhaustion washed over you, you were nearly falling asleep. Your eyes had already closed when you heard Geralt walking into the tent again.

“How is he?” The witcher asked you, looking from him to you.

“Still unconscious…” You frowned, hugging yourself. “Are we sure that-” 

Just then, like your words summoned him, Jaskier stirred. When you glanced at him and saw his beautiful blue eyes wide open, you wondered how you hadn’t appreciated about how lively they were before. 

You sprung up, rushing to comfort him when he abruptly sat up and sharply breathed in. Jaskier seemed disoriented as he looked around, spotting Geralt and then you. He opened and closed his mouth, squeaking and making strangled noises.

“It’s alright, it’s alright” You squeezed his arm, making him look at you. “You’re okay, you’re in Rinde” 

Jaskier stared at you, listening to your soft voice as you did your best to comfort him. It took a few more seconds, but your touch and your kind words worked.

“Chireadan, we should get him some water” Geralt suddenly piped up. “You talk to him, Y/N”

While the two left, you could read a reminder in the witcher’s expression. They were giving you a moment alone, and not just to explain to him what happened.

“What…” Jaskier choked out. His voice came out hoarse and he strained it so much in his injured state that it sent him into a coughing fit.

“You shouldn’t speak, your throat is still healing” With your words, his hands quickly moved to his neck. “Remember that beast, back in the forest?” 

He frowned, staring at you like a lost puppy and wheezing a bit. You pursed your lips, feeling emotional at what you were about to remind him.

“You saved me” You smiled, hoping he didn’t notice how strangled you were feeling yourself. “You were stupid enough to do that and get yourself hurt”

He struggled a bit, only managing to emit more squeaks and wheezing sounds as he tried to talk. Instead, he resolved to hold your hands in his. When your gazes met, there was a soft expression in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, though” You forced yourself to continue speaking to avoid the myriad of emotions to overwhelm you again. “As long as you rest your voice, you’ll be able to talk and sing in no time” 

Noticing your sensitive state, Jaskier tugged at your hands until you looked at him again. He nodded, bearing a grave expression, and you understood what he meant. ‘It’s okay, nothing bad happened. I’m alright’.

“Actually” You gulped, throwing glances to the entrance of the tent. “I needed to tell you something, or Geralt will get mad at me” 

“No” Jaskier choked out. “You don’t… have… to say anything” 

“Will you shut up and let me speak?” You nervously insisted, squeezing his hands in yours. “This is important, okay?” 

Even if you didn’t look at him again, you saw him nodding with the corner of your eye. You took a deep breath, preparing to say what you wanted to say.

“You really scared me back there, and…” You grimaced a little, thinking back to the harrowing scenes of watching him coughing up blood with the fresh claw marks on his throat. “I’ve been thinking and-”

“Y/N” Jaskier insisted, having a hunch about what you were saying. 

“Shut up, you need to rest your voice or…!” You interrupted yourself when you felt his touch.

Jaskier lifted your chin up so you would lock eyes with him. Yours felt watery and overwhelmed with emotion. His were drowned in concern but also understanding and comfort.

His hand slowly moved to your jaw as he tenderly held your face. His touch seemed to calm you down as you leaned into it and he lovingly brushed his thumb against your cheek.

You sighed, finally feeling like you were allowed to breathe. Your chest hurt from how badly your heart had been racing all day, thumping against your ribcage.

Jaskier sweetly smiled at you, and you finally saw him getting closer. Something you hadn’t realized you wanted him to do until then. Your eyes fell over his lips as they almost graced yours. You shivered in anticipation.

You were now so close that you felt his breath tickling your skin. Your eyes closed and your heart began beating faster.

“Oh!” A voice startled you two, making you back away immediately.

“Uh, we forgot…” You had to chuckle, being it the first time you heard Geralt stutter. 

“Blankets” Chireadan completed for him.

“Yeah” And with that, the two of them were gone again.

You heard Jaskier lightly chuckling, and the sight of his smile filled you with warmth. How had you not realized how beautiful it was before? How it flustered you in the best possible way?

When he opened his mouth to speak, though, you pushed a finger against his lips. They curved up under your finger, but he nodded obediently.

In response, Jaskier opened his arms and invited you in, raising his eyebrows. You gladly accepted, lying down with him even in the tight space that was that bed. In any case, you weren’t bothered by the closeness at all, being comforted when you felt his body against yours. Warm and fidgety as he usually was.

“If you ever do something like that again, I will kill you myself” You snuggled closer to Jaskier, craving his touch.

He took a deep breath to reply, and just that sent him into another coughing fit. You tensed up until it passed, but heaved a shaky sigh as you reminded yourself that he was now okay. Out of danger. He had scared you very badly, but he was alive. Just recovering.

“I’m sorry” Like he heard your thoughts, Jaskier’s arms tenderly tightened around you.

“Don’t speak” You reminded him, even if you were so drained that you only managed a whisper.

Jaskier laughed a little, but didn’t defy you. Instead, he left a kiss on your forehead. You sighed again, already drifting to sleep. Finally resting after that anguishing day in which you almost lost him. But you didn’t. And now you were closer to him than ever.


End file.
